Sleeve sand valve



Jan. 24, 1956 J. F. COMER SLEEVE SAND VALVE Filed July 8, 1952 John E Comer INVENTOR.

WWW 3M5)?! United States Patent SLEEVE SAND VALVE John F. Comer, Mechanicville, N. Y.

Application July 8, 1952, Serial No. 22 L696 1 Claim. (Cl. 137-382) This invention relates in general to valve structures, and more particularly to a valve for controlling the flow of sand from the discharge end of a sand supply line.

The diesel locomotives now in use on the many railroads of this country utilize sanding devices for increasing the traction of the driving wheels of the locomotives and it is necessary that the sand supply for the sanding devices be occasionally replenished. The normal procedure is to move the locomotives to be supplied with sand to a point adjacent an elevated sand supply hopper and permit sand to flow through a sand supplyline by gravity into the sand receptacles of the locomotives. Inasmuch as the sand supplying operation requires only relatively a short period of time, it is not desirable to shut down the diesel engines of the locomotives. However, with normal sand supply valves the sand is occasionally spilled with the result that a portion thereof is drawn in through the filters of the air intake of the diesel engines and mixes with the oil thereof to form a grinding compound which shortens the life of a diesel engine. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a suitable sand valve for the sand supply lines whereby the spilling of sand during a sand supplying operation is prevented.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved sand valve for controlling the flow of sand through the discharge end of a sand supply line for replenishing the supply of sand for sanding devices of locomotives, said sand valve being provided with gravity actuated closing means whereby the sand valveis normally closed.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved sand valve which includes an elongated tubular member having the lower end thereof closed and being provided with sand outlet openings adjacent said closed end, said sand outlet openings being normally closed by a valve member carried by the tubular member, said valve member being movable to an open position by engagement of an annular flange thereof with an opening in a sand receptacle of a locomotive, said valve member automatically opening upon movement of the sand valve withinthe sand receptacle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved sand valve which is of a relatively simple con struction whereby it may be easily and quickly manufactured at a minimum cost.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved sand valve wherein the valve mechanism is auto matically actuated upon entrance of the sand valve within an opening of a sand receptacle and is automatically closed upon removal of the same, said sand valve being of a construction whereby the flow of sand is automatically stopped upon the reaching of sand in a sand receptacle to a desired level.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view through a sand receptacle of a diesel locomotive and shows the discharge end of a sand supply line associated with said sand receptacle and supplying sand thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane in dicated by the section line 2-2 of Figure 1 and shows the general construction of the sleeve sand valve mounted on the discharge end of the sand supply line of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view similar to Figure 2 with the sleeve sand valve illustrated in its closed position, the sand supply line being omitted; and

Figure 4 is a transverse horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 44 of Figure 3 and shows the general arrangement of sand outlet openings of the sleeve sand valve.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the difierent views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the sleeve sand valve, which is the subject of this invention, is referred to in general by the reference numeral 10 and includes an elongated tubular member 12 which may be formed of a short length of ordinary pipe. The lower or discharge end of the tubular member 12 is closed by a transverse plate 14 which may be integral therewith or rigidly secured to the end of tubular member 12 by a conventional fastener means including welding. In order that sand may be discharged from the tubular member 12, the tubular member is provided with a pinrality of circumferentially spaced sand outlet openings 16 adjacent the lower or discharge end thereof. It will be noted that the sand outlet openings 16 are spaced slightly above the closure plate 14.

In order that the flow of sand through the sand outlet opening 16 may be controlled, the tubular member 12 is provided with a valve member 18 in the form of an elongated sleeve. The valve member 18 may be formed of a second length of pipe which has an internal diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of the tubular member 12. In order that the valve member 18 may provide an effective seal with the tubular member 12 for closing the sand outlet opening 16, the extreme lower end of the tubular member 12 is provided with an outwardly projecting annular flange 20. The annular flange 20 is provided with a beveled upper surface in the form of a valve seat 22. The beveled surface 22 tapers downwardly and outwardly whereby effective sealing with the bottom edge 24 of the valve member 18 is facilitated.

Inasmuch as the valve member 18 is freely mounted on the tubular member 12 for sliding movement longitudinally thereof, it is readily apparent that the valve member 18 will be retained in a lowermost position by gravitational forces. Since the lower edge 24 of the valve member 18 has an effective seal with the valve seat 22, no sand will be permitted to be spilled when the sleeve sand valve 10 is in a substantially vertical position.

In order that the valve member 13 may be conveniently raised to an open position with the lower edge 24 thereof positioned vertically above the sand outlet opening 16, the valve member 18 is provided intermediate its ends with an outwardly projecting annular flange 26. By engaging the annular flange 25 with an immovable member and moving the tubular member 12 downwardly it will be seen that the valve member 18 is automatically moved to an open position.

. In order that sand or other foreign matter may be prevented from entering between the valve member 18 and the tubular member 12 to prevent the free movement of the valve member 18 with respect to the tubular mem- Patented Jan. 24, 1956 ber 12, the tubular member 12 is provided adjacent its upper end with a downwardly projecting inverted cupshaped hood 28. The hood 28 includes an annular body portion 30 which is in spaced parallel relation. to the tubular member 12 and encloses the upper end of the valve member 18. The hood 28 also includes an inwardly turned upper portion 32 which is secured to the tubular member 12 by fastening means including welding. Inasmuch as a watertight seal is effective between the upper end 32 of the hood 28 and the tubular member 12, water is also prevented from entering in between the valve mem ber 18 and the tubular member 12. Inasmuch as water cannot enter between the valve member and the tubular member, there is no possibility of ice forming between the two members and preventing the free movement of the same with respect to each other.

It will be understood that the upper end of the tubular member 12 is to be connected to a flexible sand supply line 34 through which sand is supplied by gravity to the sleeve sand valve 10. The flexible sand supply line 34 is secured to the upper end of the tubular member 12 by a conventional clamp 36.

Referring now to Figure 1 in particular, it will be seen that there is illustrated a side 38 of a diesel locomotive, the side 38 providing one wall of a sand receptacle 4% for sanding equipment of the diesel locomotive. The side wall 38 is provided with a sand inlet opening 42 adjacent the upper part of the sand receptacle 40, the sand inlet opening 42 being normally closed by a closure plate 44 hingedly connected by a hinge 46 through the side wall 38 above the opening.

When it is desired to replenish the supply of sand in the sand receptacle 40, the lower end of the sleeve sand valve is moved through the opening 42 until the annular flange 26 of the valve member 18 engages the lower edge thereof. It will be noted at this time the sand outlet opening 16 of the sleeve sand valve 10 are disposed within the sand receptacle 40 whereby any sand spilled upon opening of the valve member 18 will fall directly into the sand receptacle. After the annular flange 26 has been engaged with the lower edge of the opening 42, the sand valve is moved further into the sand receptacle 40 until the annular flange 26 engages the lower edge of the hood 28 which provides a stop for the same. Inasmuch as the valve member 18 is moved to an open position during the movement of the sleeve sand valve 10 through the opening 42, sand begins to flow through the sand outlet opening 16. Inasmuch as the sand is gravity fed to. the sleeve sand valve 10 and sand will not flow to a level above its angle of repose, sand discontinues to flow through the sand outlet opening 16 upon the reaching of the desired level within the sand receptacle 40.

After the'sand receptacle 40 has been filled, the sleeve sand valve 10 is removed from its position illustrated in Figure 1 The removal 'of the sleeve sand valve 10 permits the valve member 18 to be moved to its closed position by gravitational forces whereby the flow of sand through the sand outlet opening 16 is completely shut-off prior to the movement of the lower end of the sleeve sand valve 10 through the opening 42. Inasmuch as the valve member 18 is opened only when the lower end of the sleeve sand valve 10 is disposed within the sand receptacle 40, there is no spilling of sand which may possibly enter into the diesel engines of the locomotive.

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoing description of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and drawings. Further description would appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new A sleeve valve for a sand supply line comprising an elongated tubular member adapted to be secured at one end to a sand supply line, the other end of said tubular member being closed, sand outlet openings in said tubular member adjacent the closed end thereof, a valve member slidably mounted onsaid tubular member and being normally gravity urged to a valve closing position overlying said outlet openings, said valve member being shorter than said tubular member and being movable to a position adjacent said one end of said tubular member to an outlet opening uncovering position, a hood carried by said tubular member adjacent said one end, said hood extending towards said other end of said tubular member and having a major portion thereof spaced from said tubular member, said hood enclosing an end of said valve member disposed remote'from said outlet openings and protecting said end of said valve member and an adjacent portion of said tubular member from ice and other foreign matter to assure freedom of movement of said valve member, said valve member being provided intermediate its ends with an annular projection engageable with said hood to limit movement of said valve member therein, said annular projection being engageable with a portion of a container surrounding a filler opening therein to automatically move said valve member to a valve-open position in response to the insertion of said other end of said tubular member into a filler opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 84,384 Sherwood Nov. 24, 1868 245,401 Raynor Aug. 9, 1881 1,068,067 McPherson July 22, 1913 1,252,910 Luke Jan. 8, 1918 2,214,555 Hayward Sept. 10, 1940 2,322,211 Albright June 22, 1943 2,566,248 Powell Aug. 28, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 212,799 Great Britain of 1924 

